One team was headed to the postseason, the other was headed home for good following Saturday night's match at RFK Stadium. Figuring out which team was which might have been hard to do, as the eliminated Columbus Crew looked the aggressor in a 3-2 win over top-seeded D.C. United.
United welcomed their captain, all-time MLS scoring leader Jaime Moreno, back into the fold, but gave fellow veterans Greg Vanney and Ben Olsen rest before the postseason, thus handing starts to Bobby Boswell and Dominic Mediate, respectively, while Brian Carroll was preferred to Clyde Simms at the holding midfield spot.
The Black-and-Red tested the visitors less than three minutes in as Christian Gomez whipped a free kick into the Crew goalmouth that was flicked on to Mediate at the back post. But the University of Maryland product lost his footing and scuffed his shot a bit -- though Moreno almost latched onto the rebound, denied a point-blank finish only by Ezra Hendrickson's lunging clearance.
With the playoffs looming less than a week away, D.C. coach Tom Soehn's heart must have been in his throat when Moreno went to ground clutching his right ankle area in the 9th minute.
The Bolivian was able to walk off under his own power, but after receiving treatment on the sideline, he shook his head ruefully and took a seat on the United bench as Soehn sent in Guy-Roland Kpene on in his place. Moreno's injury was later diagnosed as a mild ankle sprain.
That loss did little to settle the RFK crowd's nerves and the stadium got even quieter when the Crew seized the lead thanks to a delightful ball from Guillermo Barros Schelotto. The Argentinean was floating along his team's right-hand channel on this occasion and he only needed a brief moment to spot Robbie Rogers' diagonal run and lift a defense-splitting through ball into space ahead of the young striker.
Rogers outraced Brian Carroll, then took advantage of Perkins' quick decision to race out to the edge of his box, slotting a soft but accurate finish through the D.C. goalkeeper's legs to give his side a 1-0 advantage.
But D.C. would respond as Kpene and Luciano Emilio began to show signs of a canny understanding up top.
First the Ivorian tested Will Hesmer with a quick turn-and-shoot at the top of the Columbus penalty area, then the two combined well to carve open the Crew back line and give Emilio a clear look at goal. Hesmer came out quickly to drive the Brazilian wide, but Emilio lofted the ball back into the danger zone and Kpene's leaping header nicked off Hendrickson and looped over the crossbar.
Schelotto's corner kick to the near post sparked a goalmouth scramble in the 33rd minute, as Perkins left himself stranded when he could not punch the ball clear in the midst of a crowd. First Alejandro Moreno's effort was blocked, then the rebound fell nicely for Rogers to blast a shot towards the far side of the net -- only to be denied his second tally of the evening by a brave goal line block from Bryan Namoff.
The Crew continued to take the game to the newly-crowned Supporters' Shield winners as right back Tim Ward ranged forward to collect a switch of play in the 37th minute and power a shot to the near post that forced a quick reaction save from Perkins.
But the action rapidly switched to the other end and Emilio rose high to nod a towering header on target, drawing a spectacular leaping parry from Hesmer as the curly-haired netminder got just enough of a touch to push the ball onto the crossbar.
Soehn brought Olsen on at halftime to provide some impetus for his team, but had to remove Emilio just four minutes into the second period as he too sustained an ankle sprain.
Gomez's well-timed run onto Carroll's through ball freed the United playmaker to set up Olsen with a beautiful low cross in the 53rd minute, but Hesmer came up with another tremendous save to block Olsen from close range. Olsen gamely tried to head the rebound home, but he was caught in a sitting position and could not generate adequate force on the bid as Hesmer collected the ball with relief.
Not long after, Hesmer was the star of the show again when Kpene whizzed past Hendrickson and cracked a sharp left-footer that the Crew 'keeper palmed away alertly. His opposite number Perkins showed some skill of his own in the 62nd minute, getting full extension to gobble up Eddie Gaven's shot towards the upper corner.
But there was little Perkins could do four minutes later, when Moreno met Schelotto's cross with a thunderous volley that arrowed into the inside netting to double Columbus' lead in spectacular fashion.
The Crew had taken full advantage of an error by Namoff, catching the right back in possession just outside the D.C. penalty area and pushing numbers forward with impressive speed.
Olsen was proving to be one of his side's only consistent attacking options and he came close to grabbing his eighth goal of the year when Hesmer ventured far away from goal to scuff a clearance right to his feet. Olsen tried to lob the ball into the empty net from some 60 yards out, but his effort floated just high and wide.
Nonetheless, the home side were looking far short of their imperious best on the eve of the postseason, and it took a scintillating chip from Gomez to give the RFK faithful something to cheer about. The Argentinean galloped into space down the left channel and, seemingly unperturbed to have the ball on his weaker left foot, lifted a delicate shot over Hesmer's head and into the far corner to put his side back into contention.
That didn't last long, though, as the Crew caught United napping after the restart and Rogers coolly capped a quick passing sequence with his second goal of the night to restore a two-goal spread.
Referee Terry Vaughn awarded an injury-time penalty kick to D.C. for handball in the box, but Gomez's emphatic finish could only reduce his team's margin of defeat to one goal as the Crew secured a season-ending 3-2 victory as consolation for a year without a playoff appearance.
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
